Wildcat
by ShatteredPrisms
Summary: Alice thought she was doing okay. For a mutant in a messed up world, she was. Her best friend Hannah, however, has a past that comes back to bite them in the ass. The X-Men, another feral who goes by "Wolverine" and the mysterious Victor Creed . . . Alice's life gets seriously shaken up in a matter of minutes.
1. Gas Stations Suck

**Quck A/N! I know you'll probably skip it, but if you didn't, here's a cookie, just for you. :3 **

**This is my first attempt at a X-Men fic, so please be nice! I accept constructive criticism. To clarify, it's pre-X-Men. (The first one.) I might go into the movie plots, I might not. You never know with me. ;D**

**I converted this from the plot of a Sons of Anarchy fic I was doing, but then I just lost interest, and it was just droning. And then I watched DoFP the other day and was like "OH YEAH X-MEN LET'S DO THAT!"**

**In addition, I'm not telling you who ends up with who. 'Cuz I'm just mean like that. You can guess and prod me for answers but YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME BITCHES**

****This is actually important! When they're singing, Hannah's voice is in ****parentheses and Alice's is normal. Just to let you know.****

**Oh yeah, I should probably warn you. Profanity and blood and gore and stuff. Duh. It's X-Men. Okay, you're allowed to move on now!**

* * *

I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Of course the truck would break down. Why wouldn't it? We're didn't have a phone, so we couldn't exactly call a tow truck.

"We could walk back to that gas station," I offer, distracting Hannah from her inevitable mental rant. "It was only a few miles back."

"And then what, Alice?" she asks ruefully. "Call a cab- in the middle of Nowheresville, California? Even if we did, we couldn't afford it."

"Good point." I smile sadly, knowing she was just frustrated. "Well...we could hitchhike. Get a ride to the nearest town and go from there." She sighs, resting her forehead on the steering wheel.

"Yeah...yeah. That'll work."

"I accept your apology."

She laughs, pulling the handle on the door. She wasn't great with apologies, and neither was I. Hannah blinked at the heat that was common in California. I stepped out of the car as well, but not before grabbing the keys out of the ignition. We have a silent understanding; if she'll be my voice, I'll be her rock. Some unresolved childhood stuff had the both of us messed up. (Understatement of the century.)

Hannah has a big mouth; I have no voice, metaphorically. (Around other people, that is. I'd gotten used to Hannah.) We're polar opposites. I check under the hood, and am greeted by a cloud of steam. Hannah kicks the tire of the truck. "It's the head gasket," I explain. "The thing's overheating like crazy, you said so yourself back in Littleton." To prove myself right, I checked the oil. The dipstick had froth on it. Coolant had leaked into the oil. Damn.

"Well, listen for cars and look hot." I roll my eyes, watching her tug at her top. It was a white deep v-neck with I had laughed- hard- when I'd first seen it. And it took a lot to make me laugh.

* * *

"Everybody's dancin' in the moonlight, everybody's feelin' warm and bright. Such a fine and natural sight . . . everybody's dancin' in the moonlight!" Hannah spun around in a circle, her hands up in the air, and continued singing "Dancing in the Moonlight."

I laughed. And then I stopped dead in my tracks. "Annie!" She looked up like a gunshot had went off. "The gas station! Yess!" I dashed for the front of the store, completely parched and ravenous. I hadn't ate in about twenty-four hours, and walking for an hour and a half hadn't helped. I ended up buying a BIG bottle of water and two muffins. I had drained the water and ate both of the muffins in less than three point seven five seconds. Annie - I had no idea what she had gotten - was singing again. This time it was "Bad Moon."

"I see a bad moon a-risin'," she sang. "I see trouble on the way. I fear hurricanes and lightning." Hannah motioned for me to join in.

"No."

She beckoned again, her voice never faltering. "No! I can't sing!" She began to sing louder, and I sighed. She'd eventually be attracting a lot of attention, and I'd be trying to hide behind that air pump over there. "Fine."

"Don't come around toni-ight, well it's bound to take you li-ife. There's a bad moon on the rise." She grabbed my hand and spun me around, as if we weren't on the sidewalk of a random service station. We were dancing to our own music. As the song ended, I never stopped. I went right on into Daughters of Darkness by Halestorm.

Hannah was singing over me, and I heard the lyrics to American Boys by the same band.

_Na, na na na na. Na, na na na na. Na, na na na na. Na na na na na. _

_(Friday night boys and their PBR, chasin' Jack, getting wrecked in small-town bars) _

_Na, na na na na. Na, na na na na. Na, na na na na. Na, na na na na. _

_We came to battle baby, We came to win the war. _

_(Big city roller in NYC,) _

_We won't surrender 'till we _

_(You're a sharped-dressed man just like ZZ.) _

_Get what we're looking for. We're blowin' out our speakers, _

_(Harley-ridin' biker in a leather jacket) _

_There goes the neighborhood. _

_(Like ridin' bitch, sittin' on the back yeah) _

_A little scissor-happy, little miss-understood. _

_(Pretty boys at the University) _

_We can turn you on, _

_(Watching them walk in their Levi jeans) _

_Or we will turn on you. _

_(Yeah, yeah!) _

_Daughters of Darkness, _

_(Can't help but fall) _

_Sisters Insane! _

_(God bless 'em all!) _

_A little evil goes a long, long way. _

_(American boys . . . Gotta love 'em gotta leave 'em, gotta want 'em) _

_We stand together, no we're not afraid, _

_(They're my drug of choice, yeah yeah!) _

_We'll live forever _

_(American, American Boys!) _

_Daughters of Darkness, Daughters of Darkness. _

_(Metalhead boys in the back of a Camaro) _

_Na, na na na na. Na, na na na na. _

_(Bangin' to Metallica on the radio) _

_Na, na na na na. Na, na na na na. _

_We're all survivors somehow, we just broke out the pack. And I don't need no dogtag! My name is on my back._

I was smiling, twisting around in our dance and about to launch into the chorus when I heard clapping from behind me. I jumped out of my skin, almost, immediately halting our dance. "Sorry, she didn't realize there was anyone listening." Hannah smiled wryly as I realized what she'd done.

"_She_ didn't realize" she'd said, meaning she had known. That little bitch!

"No, no, I enjoyed the show," said the man, a bonde guy that was obviously dying his hair. Hannah grinned. My eyes were flicking over the men. He was one of those you could automatically tell he was a jerk, and the man was leaning on a Dyna; his friend was standing nearby, in nearly the same pose, on a nearly identical bike. I took in the bike with interest. It was a newer model than my old Springer, but hey, I'll settle. He didn't match the bike at all, though.

"Are these your bikes?" Hannah asked sweetly. I recognized that tone, though. She was wary.

"Yeah - it is." He smiled and then I exchanged a look with Hannah. "You wanna ride?"

"Nah, I'll pass," replied Hannnah, moving a bit closer. I didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"C'mon, baby, a ride never hurt anyone," the other guy purred. I blinked, hoping I didn't detect a subtext there. He suddenly grabbed her, and Hannah struggled, then stomped his foot with her heel before tripping and falling to the pavement. I watched and then moved to stand defensively in front of her.

"You're about to really wish you hadn't have done that," I said, smiling cruelly. The man laughed, obviously not impressed with my small stature, so I took the oppurtunity to kick him in the gut. He made a satisfying "Oof" and stumbled backwards, but I caught the front of his shirt so he wouldn't knock the bike over. My fist connected with his nose, and I saw his eyes tear up.

Then I threw him over to the side, because his friend was coming at me. He caught my arm when he swung blindly. It was a lucky hit, but I still flinched. Then I grabbed his hand and spun underneath it, ending up behind him, and forced him down on his knees. The more he struggled, the farther I pushed his arm up and the closer it came to breaking. Hannah was taking on the other without difficulty, and quickly had him on the ground. I laughed and glanced over at her.

"How's that for a good time?" she called, and I shook my head.

"Please, I was just playing, I swear, we weren't ever going to hurt anyone-" the guy whose arm I was on the verge of breaking sputtered. I pulled him to his feet, giving him a shove out and up. He howled in pain.

"I don't ever want to see either of you ever again! UNDERSTAND?" Hannah yelled, and I walked over to her. I gave the man one last punch in the nose, making sure it was broken, just for good measure. Then he ran off with his tail tucked between his legs. Hannah threw her arm around my shoulders. "Ya did good, kid. Ya did good."

"I'm hungry again, though."

"That's my girl. Fine even after walking five miles in the middle of nowhere and then taking on two guys in a gas station parking lot." I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't take on both of them - you pinned the other guy," I said, shrugging off her hand. I was always shaky after fights. I'd managed to contain myself, and yet I still felt like I had used my abilities on the guy. My stomach felt all tingly and my mouth tasted like bile.

It sucks being feral.

No, let me rephrase that. It sucks being feral _sometimes_.

Hannah was luckier than me. She was an elemental, and could "talk to animals", in a sense. It was ironic that we'd be stuck together, with me being a feline feral. "Alright, let's get outta here. I don't want to deal with any cops. See if there's a pay phone in there, and a phone book."

She nodded, turning on her heel and dashing back into the store to call a cab.

"Alice."

I pressed myself into the nearest wall, the concrete one of the gas station, and looked around. No one was anywhere near me. A soccer mom was filling up her tank on the other side of the lot.

"Alice."

That damn voice. I looked around the corner, scooting along the wall. No one was there. What the hell?

"Look."

WHAT THE FUCK. I've never heard any voice other than my own in my head, and it was seriously freaking me the fuck out. But then I heard it; a sleek black van gliding down the highway, then putting on the blinker and pulling into the station. Uh-oh.

The thing came to a stop a few feet away. Out stepped a white-haired woman. She smelled like rain. An elemental. Behind her, a giant (by giant mean muscle-y. He was kinda short for a man) man stepped out, and on the passenger side stood a guy that had this weird visor thingy covering his eyes. He smelled kinda like fire, I don't know how to describe it. Like humidity, sort of.

The scent hit me like a tidal wave. The big guy - he was a feral. I hissed, popping my claws out in an instant. I backed into the wall. Okay, if one of them tries to get around on my six, then I can just bolt either direction.

"Whoa, whoa. We're not going to hurt you," assured the elemental woman. I glared, sure my pupils had receded to slits. I took a breath of the air.

She wasn't lying. Okay, that's fucking weird. "I'm Storm, and this is Cyclops and Wolverine."

"Wildcat. Who're your friends?" Hannah asked, standing over near the door to my left. I hissed again. "Okay. Acquaintances, then." I glanced at her, never letting up my defensive stance. She just popped her hip out and put a hand on it, like she didn't have a care in the world. She annoyed me sometimes.

"Listen, we ain't the ones that're gonna hurt you." I eyed the man that smelled like a dog. Feral. Male feral. Bad.

Run.

I could run as soon as Hannah stopped messing around.

"Whoa, cool glasses, bro. Where'd ya get 'em? Spencer's?" She was addressing visor guy.

"Demeter!" I hissed, hoping she got the message. I packed as much warning as I could into the one word. Suddenly I was aware of the grass at the edge of the lot growing and spinning to form thick vines that coiled in the air, almost like snakes.

Snakes. Bad.

I hoped my eyes were that eerie blue they got to be when I went totally feral. I was nearly totally feral. I didn't want to lose full control, not just yet. Part of me was curious of what the strangers wanted.

"Miss Willow, Miss Felix, we're here on behalf of Professor Charles Xavier. You've attracted our attention, as well as the attention of a man known as William Stryker." Storm went on to explain calmly. There was a hint of fear in her scent, but she did well keeping calm. I hoped I didn't have to kill her.

"Oh shit." Hannah put her face in her hands. "I fucked up big time."

* * *

**Dun dun dun! Cliffhanger, I know. Sorry. I'm gonna post the next chapter as soon as possible, I promise! Maybe even today. If you're lucky.**

**Peace bitches!**

**~Kat**


	2. Bad, Badder, Baddest

**Hullo, luvies! It's me. (Obviously) I just want to say...**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BUT MY OWN ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AND MY PLOT LINE FOR THIS STORY. I, unfortunately, do not owmn the X-Men or their affiliates.**

**Mmmm.**

**That'd be fun.**

**My Polyvore (If you want to see what the girls are wearing) is pr1smatic with the one and everything, no caps.**

* * *

"Oh shit. I fucked up big time."

I whipped my head around to look at Hannah. What was she talking about? "Sorry, okay, continue. I just had to put that out there." Cyclops looked utterly confused. But I couldn't see his eyes, so I wasn't sure if he was confused or constipated.

"We want you to come back to the mansion with us. The Professor said you'd know where it is, Miss Willow?" Storm finished. I was seriously astounded. Once again, the elemental wasn't lying. Either I knew next-to-nothing about my best friend or this professor guy needed to get his shit straight.

"Um, yeah . . . Alice, let's go with the nice people, eh?" I watched her, astounded, walk over to me and gently squeeze my upper arm. "Come on. Storm wasn't lying. Charles wouldn't hurt a fly." I jerked away from her hand. "Okay, we can either stand here and get killed by Stryker's guys or we can go with them. Your choice." I hated when she was right.

"I'm Hannah, and this is Alice. She doesn't really talk a lot. But I make up for it." Hannah grinned. I kept my eyes on the feral guy. He was eyeing me, too. I didn't relish the idea of sitting in a small space with him all the way to wherever the hell this mansion was.

I was led around to the side of the Tahoe, where Hannah slid in. I followed, already sleepy. Car rides always did this to me. I blinked, my eyes adjusting to being out of the sun, and slightly overwhelmed by all the scents. It smelled like hot water and wet dog.

"You smell like a dog," I whined, glancing over my shoulder at the feral. He grunted.

"Says the girl who smells like a fuckin' cat." I rolled my eyes.

"At least cats are clean. Dogs eat their own shit, for god's sake. That proves cats are both smarter and cleaner."

"We aren't driving all the way to New York, are we?" Hannah asked, elbowing me. I huffed indignantly. Whatever.

Storm shook her head. "No, we're driving to the jet, and we'll fly back to New York." Great. At least cats always landed on their feet. I sat in silence for the rest of the ride, resting my forehead against the glass of the window. Storm and Cyclops had a whispering contest in the front, while I dozed on and off and Hannah watched the scenery. Occasionally, I would see a tree grow a random flower that was out of season, and I knew she was blowing off some steam.

Hell if I know what Wolverine did. What do dogs do in their spare time, sniff their own ass?

The mental image made me chuckle.

When we arrived at the jet, I leapt out of my seat and out of the vehicle. I was desperate for fresh air. It was dark, but I didn't care. I could see, thanks to having feline eyesight. Storm led us inside, and I was surprised to find how well-furnished the place was. And _bright_. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the sudden light.

I took a seat and made myself comfortable. I sighed, finally satisfied with my position, and dug my nails into the armrest. It was gonna be a _long_ flight. "You going to be okay?" Hannah asked, and I nodded. I didn't want to speak out of fear of puking everywhere. Planes. Flying tin can. Bad.

"Alright, once we take off, Hank's going to check you over, to make sure your mutations are stable." I blinked. I'd have to get up, even though I JUST fucking got comfortable. UGGHHHHH.

I fumbled with my seat belt, hearing the plane rumble to life. It slowly got louder and louder, rattling my brain. Eventually my eardrums just busted. It was worth the silence. Blood ran down my neck, then my healing kicked in and my ears popped, and I could hear again. It wasn't as loud now. But the plane was rocking back and forth, jostling my stomach further. I grabbed the armrests with a renewed death-grip.

Finally the plane got in the air, and I ripped the seat belt off. I glanced across the aisle. Wolverine was almost an exact mirror of me; gripping the armrests, blood running from his ears. I blinked.

He looked over at me, and I saw him visibly mimic my face of curiosity. "What kind of a name is Wolverine?" I murmured, low enough only he and his advanced hearing could hear.

"Not any worse than Wildcat." I considered that. "Logan."

"Alice." Then I realized Hannah was waving at me. "What?"

"C'mon, time for your checkup." I felt my stomach do a flip. Ew. But I did get up and follow her into what I assumed was Med Bay. There was a table like the ones in the horror movies, where the mad scientist would operate on an unlucky patient. And there was a blue, hairy guy. I blinked, then inhaled.

He smelled like a feral, too, but not a dog. More like human than that. He had on a lab coat, so I assumed he was "Hank". I didn't think he was a threat, but still. He was a feral. A male feral.

Bad.

"Hello Hannah, nice to see you again." Hannah let out a squeal of surprise and hugged him.

"Hank! Good to see you again."

"Miss Felix. I'm Dr. Henry McCoy, but just call me Hank." He smiled, and I blinked. He was too polite to be a feral. "Hannah, if you don't mind." He motioned toward the table. She perched on it comfortably.

I watched him go through the motions; weight, height, blood pressure, heart rate and a blood sample. "Are you currently on any medications . . . ?"

"Nope."

"Are there any problems with your powers, any sudden loss of control or physical pain while using them?" She shook her head.

"No, not unless Alice screaming in my ear to cover her ass counts." I rolled my eyes. Bitch. That was once.

Okay, twice.

Shut up.

"Alright. Miss Felix, you're up." I traded places with Hannah, with me sitting on the table and her leaning on the far wall. He checked my weight and height first. I was still short as hell (5'2") and weighed 94 pounds.

"Oh, by the way, my heart rate is higher than the average. Feline stuff."

"Right." He pulled out his stethoscope. I bit the inside of my jaw, then pulled my shirt's neckline down a little. The metal piece was _really_ cold. I held still and breathed normally while he moved the thing around and asked me to cough and such. "Your heart rate is 134 BPM. Right where you want to be." I nodded. I remembered reading somewhere cats could have a heart rate of 140 BPM and be normal.

My blood pressure was average, and all that. Then I had to fill out a boatload of paperwork. It was the basic stuff, like full name, date of birth, blah blah blah. It took me most of the flight to complete it. At least it kept my mind (mostly) off of the fact that we could fall out of the air at any given moment.

The landing was awful. I stumbled out onto the runway as soon as we were still and, well, let's just say the muffin tasted better the first time.

Logan muttered something about cats, but he didn't look far away from joining me in re-painting the concrete.

"Jeez, when you told me you got motion sickness, I thought it was just some anxiety or something . . . " Hannah said, holding my hair away from my face. I wiped my chin with the back of my hand.

"Sorry, I just . . . planes." I explained. My voice felt gravelly.

I then took in my atmosphere. "Whoa." Hannah glanced around the hangar. It was huge, and I saw no windows. The only escape route was behind Visor Man.

"Hello," called a red - haired woman, walking from the very exit I was thinking about running for. "I'm Dr. Jean Grey, I work here at the school." I blinked, still considering running for the exit.

"I'm Hannah, and this is Alice." I nodded stiffly. She smiled. I didn't really like her. She seemed sorta bitchy. And smelled like a psychic. Only . . . not. I breathed in once more, taking my time sorting out the scents. Psychic, weak. But . . . Telekinesis? I remembered encountering a telekinetic mutant only once before. It smelled almost salty, but with more of an acidic tinge.

"The professor is waiting for you upstairs. He'll explain your . . . situation." I could explain my situation. I'm with a group of random mutants and I haven't decided if they're good or bad. My best friend had lied to me about her past, and I've met two male ferals within two hours of each other, and weirder yet, they weren't trying to kill each other.

What. The. Fuck.

* * *

**Ta-Da! Chapter two officially complete! You like it? You think you know who ends up with who? WRONG.**

**Haha, I'm just kidding.**

**OR AM I?**

**And what does the Professor have to say, and why is Stryker after the girls? All these questions will be answered next time in . . . .**

**~ WILDCAT, CHAPTER 3! ~**

***Coming soon to a computer near you***


	3. Dog Breath

As I followed Doctor Redhead up the stairs, I instinctively stuck to the wall, occasionally glancing behind me at Logan. Er- Wolverine. Which would annoy him the most? I guess I'll just have to make up something. Dog Breath fits. Eh, that doesn't seem creative enough.

Our progression went like this: First was Redhead- whom I got the feeling, from the looks Wolverine was giving her, was sorta bitchy- then there was me and Hannah, and behind us was Dog Breath, Storm, and Cyclops. In my thought, I nearly tripped on the last step, and then someone's hand darted out and caught me.

"Hey!" I brushed the hand off of my arm.

"Geez, I just saved you from kissing the floor," said a new, deep, purring voice. With it came a rush of scent. I recoiled, and ran right into Wolverine.

"Jesus fucking Christ, can't I walk?" I hissed, elbowing Logan in the ribcage and looking up at last. The man in front of me was, admittedly, the most attractive person I'd ever seen in my life. I briefly wondered if he was a shapeshifter, and took the form of whatever was most attractive to you. But then another breath told me he was, yet _another_, feral.

I brushed past him and looped my arm through Hannah's. "Can't you play nice for, like, three seconds, Allie Cat?" She asked, amusement obvious in her tone. I deadpanned her, then turned my attention to not falling. For a cat feral, I sure was accident prone.

"You don't smell the damn feral scent in here. It's fucking horrid." I heard a cackle behind me. I hissed and walked a bit faster. "And everyone here- they're all mutants!"

"I know, I know. I should've warned you, but I was afraid you would run." I snapped my head around to look at her. "Sorry! Just- here. You're about to get your explanation." We turned right, down a beautifully-decorated hallway. The paneling on the walls were a deep wood color, and vases and portraits lined them.

Shock must've shown on my face, because Hannah laughed. I blinked. "Listen, I need to . . . I can't do this, I don't belong here, Hannah, I don't . . ." My breathing quickened, and I felt blood pulse to my face. I'm pretty sure my hair would've been standing on end if I'd been fully Feral at the time. I'd said this rather quietly, but Wolverine had heard me.

"Hey. Calm down, dammit, some of these kids can sense emotions." I recoiled in shock, and bumped into the wall to my left. My eyes dilated, I felt them, and a raging headache was erupting in the back of my skull.

"Kids? Kids?! I'm in a building with _children_? No, no, I'm going to hurt someone, I know it," I panted, but Hannah kept her cool and just propelled me forward.

I continued to hyperventilate, but she kept up her steady breathing. "Here, you're going to be okay, as long as, you know, you don't Hulk out and kill everyone." If looks could kill she'd be dead.

We turned left and into an office. Behind the desk, there was an older man, with a shiny head and a nice suit on. And he smelled powerful. Mentally, I mean. Like a telepath. I glanced uncomfortably behind me, at the two ferals behind me. Then Hannah was gone and wrapped around the bald guy.

"Charles! Oh, it's been way too long!" She exclaimed. I cocked my head to one side. "Alice, this is Professor Charles Xavier. Relax, we can trust him." I was wary, but figured hey, I'm not dead yet. I crossed the room and shook his hand.

"Wonderful to meet you, Miss Felix." He shook my hand. His skin was oddly cool, compared to my own flushed skin. But then I recognized his voice. "Yes, I warned you earlier," he said, but his mouth never moved. I jumped.

Logan chuckled. "Shut up, Dog Breath," I snapped. The snickering stopped immediately, and another voice chuckled.

"Hannah, Miss Felix, I apologize for the inconvenience I've caused, but I had to get you out of Stryker's reach immediately." I raised an eyebrow as his wheelchair moved out from behind the desk on its own. "I've learned he's set his sights on the two of you, specifically you, Miss Felix."

Hannah looked over at me. "Uh-oh."

"You, Miss Felix," I blinked, _Miss Felix_ was getting old, "are one of the last female ferals in the world, perhaps the last."

"Why should this Stryker guy care?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. This whole thing was getting way too unreal. "I mean, it's not like I'm in very high demand. No one except Hannah even knows I'm alive."

Professor Xavier motioned to the other mutants in the room. "We do, Miss Felix. It's extraordinary that you've been undetected for so long. You see, female ferals emit a very strong hormone that only male ferals can detect. Whenever a male picks up this scent, it activates a reaction that, well-"

"It doesn't end very well for the female," quipped the feral whose name I hadn't learned. I supressed the growl growing in my throat. He looked pretty smug, and even flashed a grin at me. I did the same, showing off my nice, shiny canines. He looked slightly surprised by this, and I flashed back to look at the Professor.

"Thank you for paraphrasing, Sabretooth." I heard a slight grunt. Did everyone here have a codename? Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, and Sabretooth. Bitchy redhead didn't have one, though. The thought amused me. "You, Miss-" I gave him a look. "Excuse me, Alice, are quite possibly the last of your species."

It then hit me.

"Holy fuck. Pardon my language, but . . . that's a lot." Hannah nodded. She was perched on the end of Professor Xavier's desk, and was peering at me with wide, green eyes.

I wobbled on my feet. I. Was. _Tired_. I immediately straightened my back and planted my feet; I wasn't about to pass out in front of these people. Someone had noticed, however. "Cats generally sleep for fifteen hours a day, and I don't think she's met that in a long time," explained Sabretooth. I waved him off, but he ignored my gesture and wrapped his arm around my waist to support me. I leaped forward, but fatigue kept me from using the entirety of my 98 pounds. He chuckled. I popped my claws halfheartedly- at this point I was so tired I didn't care if I lived or died- and hissed.

"Son of a bitch, put me down, dammit! How dare you! Oh, pardon my French, but mother fuckin'-" I was cut off by him jostling me and I gave up all hope of living the rest of the day, and looked over at Hannah. She was giggling her little blonde ass off. "Hannah, when I was a kid, it was inappropriate to giggle like that. So. Think about that, _fy ffrind_."

She looked taken aback, but then saw her opportunity. "And when was that, _il mio amico_?" I deadpanned her.

"Ymddiheuriadau, Hannah, ond rwy'n ofni nad wyf i'n mynd i chi fwynhau gyda'r wybodaeth honno."


	4. Sunrise

**Okay, I may have lied to you all. Just a teeny, itty bitty lie though. And technically, it wasn't a lie, I never said I knew, specifically . . . well, just read. I'll explain at the end.**

* * *

The next thing I remember after the little Professor Xavier escapade was waking up with the sunrise. Light leaked through the curtains covering the window, and I stretched in the warmth.

Wait.

What?!

I shot up, but the sheets were wrapped around my legs, and I ended up ass-down on the wooden floor. Where was I? Had I seriously passed out? Am I narcoleptic or something? And where was Hannah? I mentally cringed.

Despite everything, I'd counted her as part of my pack. That means I'd trusted her completely, and had been honest in mostly everything I told her. She, on the other hand, had totally lied. That hurt. She'd said she was from a small town in Oregon, ran away when she was seventeen, and had been on the run ever since. Apparently, she has connections to this super-hero refuge.

Or whatever the hell this was.

Serves me right for trusting someone. What state am I even in? Was I drugged? Did they run tests on me?

I shuddered, and managed to get untangled from the blankets. I'd been comfortable for the first time in probably ten years, laying in that bed, even if it was only for a split second. I stretched, then took in my surroundings. There were three doors. One, presumably, led to a corridor. The only challenge is figuring out which one. I reached for the knob of the one nearest me.

After a moment of hesitation, I pulled the wooden door open. It led to a small bathroom. Nothing threatening in there, really, except maybe the smell of mold and dust. As a matter of fact, this whole room smelled like dust. The next door led me out into the hall. I peered in both directions. Down to the left, I saw a staircase going up, and the other was a staircase going down.

I retreated into the room and glanced out the window. I was probably three stories off the ground. I could, quite frankly, jump from the window, but it didn't look like it would open without a difficult (and noisy) fight. So I slipped out the door and to the right, towards the stairs going down. I glued myself to the wall and kept to a low crouch.

"-yeah, she's a bit rough around the edges, but-" I felt adrenaline kick in. Which meant slipping away from consciousness and letting my feral side take over wasn't far behind. I panicked, and took a deep (quiet) breath and crouched as low as I could into the shadow of the wall to my left. It was Hannah, I recognized her scent immediately, along with one other person. Rain, and an odd salty smell. It had to be that elemental- what was her name? Cloud, or- no, Storm.

I knew it was inevitable to avoid them, so I stood up and shook out my limbs just as they rounded the corner. Immediately I popped my claws. "Whoa there, Allie Cat. Calm down. We were just coming up to check on you."

I was doubtful of that. "Everything you ever told me was a lie, eh? Is your name even really Hannah?" I asked sarcastically. She looked sheepish. I think my chin touched the ground.

"Your name isn't- Oh my God. This is wonderful." I ran my fingers through my hair- which tore the hell out of my scalp- and regrouped. "Thanks for nothing." I brushed past her, and meant to head down the hall, but Storm blocked me.

"I wouldn't advise leaving, for your own safety. Stryker is searching every inch of the globe for you." I deadpanned her. She stared right back.

"I still don't understand. What is so damn important about me? I realize, last female feral, yadda yadda, but why does that matter?" I asked, breaking our staring contest to glance at Hannah- Or whatever the hell her name was.

The blonde looked surprised. "Alice, you haven't realized . . .?" My confusion was evident. "Whoever controls you, controls the future of feral mutants, and maybe even the X-gene. The gene that has to be present in all mutants."

I gaped.

"It's true. You're important, or some shit like that," called Logan, approaching from behind me. I jumped three feet into the air. He chuckled but otherwise ignored the skittish response. "See, Professor X has this theory that all mutants, somehow or another, descended from ferals. Us." My reaction was blinking. Repeatedly.

"We think Stryker is going to try to . . . ah, breed you."

"Breed me? What the actual fuck?" I smelled that they were all being truthful. "That's not going to fly. Hell no. I've been told many, many things that people want to do to me, but this is a new one," I huffed, glancing between the three of them. "This isn't some sick joke, right? Nothing's going to jump out and punch me in the face?"

Former-Ally-Hannah shook her head. I scowled. "Well, seeing as I don't plan on being breeded anytime soon . . . how do I know you all aren't going to do the same thing? This one has already betrayed my trust. Anything you say, Blondie, I'm going to doubt. You've lost your trust priveleges." She bowed her head, and muttered something.

"Hey." I looked over at Logan. His eyes flashed an odd gold color, which I recognized as that of a wolf. "I know you can tell when someone's lying so here it is. We swear not to harm you in any way. You just have to listen to Professor X."

I took a deep breath. Truth. My instincts were the only thing that hadn't failed me yet. "Okay, Dog Breath, I'll stick around and see Professor Xavier's sales pitch, but I'm not promising anything."

**Okay, I don't know who I'm pairing with who. I thought I did, then I started having doubts during my hiatus, and now I just don't know. So I'll be honest with you. (I'm that nice. Feel special.) Originally, I was hoping to pair Alice with Victor and Hannah with Jimmy (Logan), and Alice have a brotherly connection with Logan. **

**But then I thought, wait a sec, Alice is so defensive and quick to anger, what if I put her with someone a bit calmer, like, say, Hank. But if I did that, I would have to go back and change my chapters around, which I really don't want to do. Then I thought, this could be in a different time. Right after DoFP, you know. But then the whole Stryker thing would be . . . eh. I don't know.**

**I need your help with this one teeny thing that's sort of the drive of, like, half the story. Go to my profile and vote on who I should pair with who? Pleasseeeee? I seriously need help.**

**Well, now that I'm done whining . . . **

**I'm working on chapter 5!**

**YAY!**

**Bad news: You might not get it for two weeks. I know, I know. I'm sorry.**

**Well, you are getting a chapter in the first place! Don't worry, be happy!**

**Peace out bitches.**

**~Kat**


	5. Eggs

**Whasssaaap! Haha, I think I have the whole pairings thing figured out. But I'm not telling you who's with who. Because I'm mean. :D **

**SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER! My computer had a busted bezel (I know, WTF right?) and the mouse was jacked up and I had to go out and buy a mouse with my dwindling funds. **

**My funds are dwindling because I bought myself The Elder Scrolls Anthololgy pack with all of the games for Christmas. ^.^ *cough* addiction *cough***

**I would like to send a shout out to the amazeballs people who went and voted. You're the real heroes here, and if it wasn't for you, then we wouldn't have a story because I would lose interest. And also to **dreamgirllivi, **who messaged me about the pairings. YOU ARE THE REAL MVP MY FRIEND.**

**And with that, on with the story.**

* * *

I fidgeted around with the pocket of my hoodie. I'd accumulated a bunch of lint and whatever else, and it was bothering me. "What's your name?" I directed at Hannah, my voice rough-sounding from lack of use. It had been a few hours since my argument with Storm, Logan, and she-who-shall-not-be-named, and we were sitting in the kitchen watching Dr. Grey bustle around.

"It's Hannah. My birth name isn't, but I identify as Hannah."

"Well, what's your birth name, then?"

Dr. Grey glanced uneasily over at She-who-shall-not-be-named. "Well, I don't really remember. I don't remember anything before 1994." I scowled. I'd struck a nerve, I could tell, and so could everyone else. I could cut the tension with my claws.

"Oh." I wasn't going to apologize, as it wasn't my fault and I wasn't sorry for asking, but I did feel bad for the girl. "Well, I remember everything, and I wish I didn't. Oh, let me, would you?" I hissed, leaping easily around the counter. Dr. Grey was fumbling with the stove.

She looked surprised. "You know how to cook?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Dr. Grey, I can cook. I'm damn good, too. My airhead of a mother couldn't tell the difference between her ass and a hole in the ground, but she could whip Aunt Bee's ass when it comes to cooking." At the strange looks I got, I quickly elaborated as I turned the heat up and reached for an egg. "Aunt Bee from Andy Griffith. You know, the iconic 60's television show...?"

I didn't see their reactions, because I was cracking an egg on the edge of the pan on the stove. "Does that mean you were born in the sixties?" asked Victor, the strange man I'd met on the stairs yesterday.

"Oh, ha, no." I didn't explain further, but began to rattle off ways to improve Dr. Grey's cooking techniques. "Now, what you were about to do is this-" I pushed my thumbs into a crack in the egg, and the whites went everywhere. "Don't. It just makes a mess, and honestly, it's probably a lot harder. Here, deary, try it like this next time." I gently tapped the egg against the edge of the stove. A hairline fracture appeared, and I tapped the other side, holding both ends. Then I held it over the bowl and pulled the two pieces of shell apart, letting the yolk slide into the pan. I immediately lowered the heat.

"Are you British?"

"What the hell kind of accent is that?"

Hannah was rolling laughing. "She does that when she gets distracted or is cooking. It's great."

I wanted to smack her with the egg shell. "Shut the fuck up. I'm not British, you ass," I directed at Victor. "I'm Irish, there's a difference. Now sit down and shut up. I'm making food." They did. Everyone gathered around the bar and watched me like my siblings used to do when my mother cooked.

"When are you from?" asked Storm timidly. Her eyes followed my movements as I poked an egg with a fork. I laughed.

"Wow, well, we weren't exactly keeping track back then, but I was fifteen when my, uh, feral senses kicked in, and then nineteen or twenty when that crazy woman, Anne, took control of Britain. Well, I'd guess I was born about 1645 or so."

I think Logan shit a brick. "1645?! Jesus, you're a fossil!"

I hissed. "Gee, thanks, you asshole."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "You're, what, three-hundred sixty-something years old? Yeah, um, you're a fossil."

"You're the oldest living person on this planet. Definitely the oldest living feral." I nearly hit my head on the cabinets, I jumped so high. "Sorry, Miss Felix, I didn't mean to startle you."

I waved him off. "I-It's okay, Professor, I'm just a bit jumpy." I prodded an egg with the fork again, and then slid it onto a waiting plate. "There. Perfect over-easy eggs." I plopped the plate down on the bar and let them serve themselves.

"It takes a tremendous amount of brain capacity to retain that many memories. You remember everything, from 1645 to now?" I nodded.

"Mostly. I think I may be remembering Pope Pius the Fourth wrong, though. Didn't he have a wart?" Storm laughed behind me.

Professor Xavier nodded. "Very, very impressive, Miss Felix. Would you mind if Dr. Grey and I ran a few scans? I'd like to see how much of your brain is functioning." I blinked, then glanced over at Dr. Grey. She was looking like she'd cut me open the first chance she got. "The others will be present, of course," he added, and I nodded.

"Well, ah, as long as you don't prod me with random needles." He chuckled.

"Of course not, Miss Felix." He glanced over at the people digging into the eggs. "We can discuss your terms of staying here later, if you'd like. I assume you're hungry, after all you've been through." I nodded. I have a deep respect for this guy, honestly. He gets it.

"Thank you for all this," I replied. He simply nodded and rolled away. I wanted to burst out laughing. It was so dramatic when he just turned and rolled off, like the end of some shitty movie.

But I didn't laugh. I turned around and made more eggs.


	6. Freaks Like Me

**Hello, my loves!**

**It's me. Duh. XD**

**Well, I've decided to introduce a new character! I know how excited you are about that. *sarcasm* But on a serious note, I'm going to start working on bringing in some romance. I've decided on the love interests! I know I'm being a pain in the arse by not telling you guys, but I want you to wait and see.**

* * *

It was kind of weird, thinking that I was going to sleep in the same place twice. It was like, here I was, after many, many years on the run, running from something, everything, everyone. I had always made sure to never sleep in the same place two times in a row.

Tonight I would do that quite willingly.

Weird.

I sat in a lounge off to one side of the kitchen, resting my eyes and basking in the sunlight leaking through the window beside my chair. Then something happened; a person walked in the door. A small person. A kid.

I let my head loll to one side, then looked lazily at the teenager. She looked frightened, and small; maybe fourteen. She glanced around, then asked, "Are- are you a teacher?" I shook my head, amused. "A . . . student?"

I shook my head again. "No. Far from it. I'm just . . . an acquaintance of Professor Xavier." She looked over at the window, then back at me. "I'm a mutie as well, relax, lass. Feral."

She blinked, then moved to sit down, then stopped. "Do you mind if I . . . ?"

"Nah, go ahead, kid."

She plopped down on the sofa and rooted around for a moment, then I saw her pull out a clicker and turn on the television across from us. "There's going to be a bunch of students in here pretty soon, just so you know."

I scowled, nodding. I'd have to abandon my nice, comfy chair in the sun. Maybe I'd go outside. I needed to stretch my legs. "Alright. When the first few get in here, I'll go for a jog around the grounds, maybe."

"I'm Catherine. I'm a- well, I can see others' auras, and project my own onto others. I tend to do that . . . unknowingly, sometimes." I nodded. "For example, when I walked in, you were a pretty lavender color, but then you changed to a really dark red, but it had a grey film. You got really . . . guarded, I guess." She nodded, then seemed to realize she may have crossed a line. "I mean, sorry, that's sort of personal, and-"

"Just shut up. You're mortal, as far as you know, right?" She nodded, wide-eyed, and stared at me with wild eyes. "Don't worry about what other people think about you so much. You only have so long to live." I stared right back into her eyes, doing what Hannah used to call my "fucking scary soul-stare." Catherine actually lasted a while before something in her facial expression changed and she looked away.

She took a deep breath, then said, "Sectoral heterochromia?"

What?

"What?"

She nodded at me. "You have sectoral heterochromia. It's where you have different colors in your eyes. You have it." I licked my lips. "It's really pretty, all the different colors in your eyes," she added.

That's another way I'm a freak, by the way. My left eye was brown, with a fraction of it being green. In the other, it was blue and a weird hazel-gold color. "Yeah. The odds of me being born a mutant with sect . . . whatever apparently was slim to none. But here I am." She smiled then, and I noticed the little crinkles around her eyes. Her eyes were older than her body.

"Hey, Cat. I'm hungry, so-" I looked up at the girl who had walked in. She was obviously older than Catherine, maybe sixteen or seventeen. She had bright red hair and green eyes, and was wearing a sweater that said "All I Want for Christmas Is Food."

"Oh, hey, Kary." I didn't smile, but I got up and stretched until my neck and back popped. I could practically hear Kary cringe. The scent of curiosity and fear drifted off of her in waves.

"I'm leaving, don't worry. See you, Catherine." I made my way to the archway leading to the kitchen, intending to grab some water and head to the Professor's office.

Catherine was at my elbow in an instant. She was shorter than I was. "Hang on, how long are you staying?" she asked quietly, obviously wary of the red headed girl in the room. I glanced at Catherine, then at Kary, then back at Catherine.

"I honestly have no idea. Probably not long. I'm never in one place very long." I tried to leave again, but only got a few steps.

"Wait!" I turned around again, agitated by this premature little thorn in my side. "Well . . . do you have any friends here?" I deadpanned her. "I'll take that as a no. Well, pretty soon, I'm making a trip to New York, but I'm not allowed to go without and adult."

I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

"Look, kid-"

"No, just for the train ride, then you can come straight back. I'll pay for all the expenses, and food, and everything." I scowled, and watched as Catherine's blue eyes got twice as wide as normal. "Please?"

I sighed. I'd be putting her in danger. But then again, I knew how to lay low. And I could keep track of the girl and make sure she didn't get into anything.

Wait. What did I care if the little bitch got into anything? She wasn't my problem. But for some reason, I just muttered a quick "Let me think" and then walked away. I headed for the place I saw Professor X the first time.

I hoped he was there. If not, then I'd go back to my room. _Not my room, damn it! The room I woke up in_, I revised in my mind. This place completely mindfucked me. Here I was, possibly the only female mutant left in the world, stuck in a school for freaks like me.

_**If you're a freak like me, get off your ass!**_

_I, I, I. Everything you've ever done has revolved around you. You have to do something for someone else at some point. _

**Bullshit. I do things for exclusively me because I plan on living. Or surviving, or whatever the hell I'm doing.**

_Bullshit yourself. Three hundred years isn't worth it if you don't have anything to live for. Catherine needs a chaperon._

**Yeah, well . . . shut up.**

This monologue had been doing this back and forth shit in my mind for the past hour and a half. I stared at the ceiling and let this happen. My survival instinct was arguing vehemently with my emotions. I wondered briefly what my aura looked like right now. Probably a mush of everything. So gray.

_We trusted Hannah. That was good. That kept us happy._

**Yeah, look how that turned out.**

_Whatever. She's sorry, you know that. She never really hurt us. She was actually helping us._

**No. It still hurt.**

_And what, suddenly you can't take a hit?_

I growled out loud, then immediately shot up and looked around. No one was around to hear me, I was in my- the room I woke up in. With the dust in the air and the frilly curtains. The argument, I realized, had shifted from between my instinct and my emotions to the wildcat and my human. I shoved Wildcat to the deepest recess of my mind I could manage and threw my feet over the side of the bed, and headed for the little bathroom adjacent to the bedroom.

I looked the part of a feral mutant. My hair frizzy and wild, and reached the small of my back. My eyes were, of course, as wild and freaky as always. And my clothes were disheveled and dusty from my time in SoCal and Mexico. I couldn't be having this, oh but hell no. I brushed my clothes off, but the orange-yellow grains stuck to my shirt and pants like glue.

Damn.

Damn it all.

I glanced over at the shower. Hmm.

Before I did anything drastic (like getting naked), I ran through my hair with my fingers as best I could. The brown ball of frizz was so knotted, my fingers almost got stuck. No wonder people were afraid of me in the villages and towns we traveled through.

Ha. Yeah. "Damn it." I glanced around, then checked in the room again. The door was still shut, and no one was waiting on me with a potato sack and baseball bat. I wandered over to the door, and was disappointed. No lock.

But the bathroom door had a twist-lock on it. Well, I honestly didn't care who saw me naked, but I didn't want to scar some little kid that happened to wander in. I lifted my shirt over my head.

I left a trail of clothing from the bed to the shower. It looked rather comical, but I shut and locked the door of the bathroom. No peeks for horny teenage boys, oh no. I twisted the knob of the shower, and the water that rained from the shower head was _hot_. I must be near the water heater. I turned it so it wouldn't boil my skin and stepped over the wall of the tub. It occurred to me I could take a bath, but I was going for cleanliness, not relaxation.

The water felt really good, admittedly. It massaged the kinks out of my shoulders and back. My hair progressively got heavier. There was literally no way I got all the knots out, but I got some of them out.

I shut the water off and stepped out of the tub.

And realized I didn't have a towel.

"Fuck my life."

* * *

**Okay, no romance for this chapter, but soon! I promise!**

**Just for you, I've decided to reveal to you Hannah's pairing! How excited are you, eh? Alright, alright, here it is.**

***Clears throat***

**And, the lucky male pairing for Hannah Willow is . . . **

***Drumroll***

**James Logan Howlett!**

**Ta-Da! The year: 2015. The month: July. Don't hate me, I made an executive decision, and it has something to do with the plot later in the story. There isn't much else left to say . . . **

**Bye my bitches!**

**~Kat**


	7. Poor Unfortunate Souls

**Hi, readers!**

**How's life? Mine's been alright. Biology is killing me. Ugh. I'm taking chemistry next year.**

**ALSO, how about some love for the beautiful people who have been reviewing and such? Especially- shout out time- these guys:**

**OptimusPrimegirl213 (The first to leave a review on Ch. 6! Thanks so much for your support!)**

**LynnStark (Because your comment made me happy. ^.^)**

**These two have bared with me through this, and I hope you all keep reviewing and such! I honestly thought this story would bore me after a while, but it hasn't, and here we are. I'm going to start on the romance in this chapter, if just touching on it a little. I think the Hannah/Logan pairing is going to make me really happy, and hopefully you guys too.**

**With that, read on!**

* * *

Fuck my life.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I hissed, grabbing my lump of brown hair and squeezing the excess liquid out of it. I looked around for something, anything, to use to dry off. There wasn't even a roll of toilet paper.

"Alice?" I breathed a sigh of relief. It was . . . someone. That guy, Victor.

Oh shit. I sucked my sigh right back in. I was stuck in a bathroom, totally naked, dripping wet, with a male feral on the other side of the door. "Yes?" I asked, in the most even voice I could muster.

He chuckled. "Need some help?"

"Oh, shut the fuck up and get Hannah, or Storm. Not that bitchy doctor." I could hear his chuckling get louder. He was still standing there, God dammit. "Well? Are you going to get someone? If not, grab me a towel."

"What were you planning on doing if no one had showed up?" he asked, obviously humored by my situation. "Come out looking like a soaked cat? Pun intended, by the way." I smacked the wood door with my palm. The wood creaked under my hand.

I'll bet that got his attention. "Dammit, get me a towel!"

There was silence. Hopefully because he had left. Then, "If you would open the door, I'd hand it to you." I blinked.

"Um, you must be simple-minded. Leave it laying on the bed." Victor made a noise and then I heard the door to my room slam. He'd left. I timidly twisted the lock and cracked the door open, just enough to poke my head out. The room was empty. There was a pastel pink towel laying on the bed.

Awesome.

I grabbed the towel and dried myself off, then picked up the pile of fabric beside it. Victor had dropped me off a change of clothes as well. How nice of him. I shook out the shirt. And realized it wasn't a shirt.

At all.

Damn it.

It was a fucking dress. A fucking black-and-pink-and-floral dress. Fuck it all. Fuck my life, fuck the dress, fuck Victor and his smug ass, because I guarantee he had something to do with this. There was no way in fuck.

I looked around on the floor. Victor had taken my old clothes. "Fuck you!" I yelled at the door. I heard several different laughs from the other side. I picked up my underwear and slid it on, then disdainfully lifted the dress over my head. It actually fit well.

I hated it. I didn't even bother looking in the mirror; I didn't want to know. "And I have a brush, Ali, if you want it."

"Hannah. I swear to every deity I know of, I'm going to tear your eyeballs from your head and make you eat them." I wrenched the door open then, causing Logan and Victor to stumble forward and into the room. Hannah had been standing behind them, and then made a mad dash for the stairs. I was quicker; I leaped over Logan and Victor, and jumped in front of her before she made it three steps.

She handed the brush to me without a fight. "This. Is. Priceless."

I wanted to backhand her, but I didn't. Instead I ripped the brush through my hair. It caught several times, and I felt several hairs jerk free of the roots. "You know, I can't even fight in this without flashing some poor unfortunate soul on the sidelines," I said, spinning on my heel to go back into the room. I heard two ferals- whom had managed to get up off the floor- make two totally different noises.

When I'd spun around, the skirt of the dress had flown up around my hips, and I actually had flashed them. If it were at any other time, I wouldn't have cared. But this wasn't any other time. I felt the blood rush to my face.

Logan had made a tiny embarrassed noise in the back of his throat, and his facial expression was fucking priceless. I quickly got my blush under control (_You're a grown-ass woman, stop acting like a little pussy!_) and laughed. "C'mon, wolf-y. I guarantee you've seen women with much better asses than mine."

Victor, on the other hand, had the slightest little fucking smirk on his smug fucking face. I wanted to punch him. This fucker was getting under my skin, and I wasn't liking it. "And you're a pervert. I can't believe they let you hang around all these horny-ass teenage girls." At that, I snatched my jeans and tee shirt out of his hands and slammed the door to my room.

_DAMN IT! _THE_ ROOM, NOT MY ROOM!_

Wildcat chuckled in the most satanic, sadistic voice manageable.

**Face it, human. We've accepted this place as our home.**

_No, you're wrong! We've barely been here for a day, and this place isn't home. Ireland is home. But we can't go back there._

**Stop denying it. All you're doing is hurting yourself.**

Then Wildcat disappeared of her own accord. I ripped the dress off and put my shirt on, and my pants. I didn't feel as free as I had in the dress, I realized. But much, much less exposed. Honestly, though- and if you ever tell anyone this I'll murder you in your sleep- I sorta liked it.

Um. No. Wrong.

I took a moment to dust off my clothes, then opened the door again. No one was there, so I walked on out, brush in hand, hair still damp. The fricken brush was getting stuck in my hair every inch or so. I needed some help, legit.

Wait a second.

That girl, Catherine. She looked like . . . well, a teenager. She'd know how to deal with this shit. But she might also want something in return.

Well, duh, she wants you to chaperon on her field trip to New York.

I scowled and headed downstairs. Well, that would give me an opportunity to run, if I wanted to. Which is precisely why the professor probably wouldn't let me go with her. Honestly. But I could still make the argument that she was a lot safer with an adult mutant with her powers under control than on her own on the streets of NYC.

**Does that mean we're going on the trip?**

My feet found their way to the last place I'd seen the girl, in the lounge off the kitchen. It was teeming with teenagers. A few looked wary, but most just looked like they hated me. I could smell the mix of hormones and emotions, and quite frankly, it nearly made my eyes water. Now I remember why I don't like teenagers. Catherine was okay, but these kids were out of control.

**The majority think we're a teacher.**

"Who're you?" asked a boy. He was probably about twelve or thirteen, but I couldn't really tell. He looked at me with wide green eyes.

The entire room had gone silent, except for two girls in the corner, who were whispering in the corner. I could hear quite clearly what they were saying about me, and it would've killed a nun.

"Uh, I'm Alice, Alice Felix. Hi. Anyone know where Catherine is? Brown hair, brown eyes, sorta short. Can see auras." I immediately noticed over fifty percent of the kids glanced at a redheaded girl lounging on the sofa. It was that same girl that Catherine called "Kary." She nodded, and sat up.

"She's in a study session right now, actually."

_Lie._

I narrowed my eyes. She kept her expression blank. She was good at lying, but not as good as my instincts were at detecting them. "Listen, this can go two ways. You can stop lying and tell me where she is, or you can keep lying, and I'll get it out of you a much less pleasant way."

She seemed to realize she was caught, and her shoulders dropped ever-so slightly. "Fine. Come on." She stood up and brushed by me, and I didn't need my nose to tell me she was pissed and embarrassed. Serves her right, for lying to me. We made our way down the hall and then twisted to the right, down a separate corridor. "In here. Don't be angry with her, please." Kary turned the knob of the door and then left, practically running down the hall.

I was tempted to yell "No running in the halls!" after her.

The room was mostly dark, but I could see well. After all, I am part cat. Catherine was standing in the middle of the dorm, (Bunkbeds were pushed against one wall) her eyes squeezed shut. There was something off, I realized. Something definitely wasn't right. Her hair was the wrong color, and her skin was oddly pale. "Catherine?"

She jumped straight up in the air, and her skin and hair shifted to their normal colors. "Oh, i-it's you," she stuttered, and she reached over and flicked a light switch. My pupils adjusted themselves accordingly.

"Yeah. What were you doing? No- you know what, I don't want to know. I need your help. How long do you have until your next class?" I asked, yanking the brush through my hair again.

She watched my hands as they moved through my brown mop. "W-well, it's Wednesday, so I have another thirty minutes. Why?"

I motioned to my hair. "This is why. Fix it. Make it less . . . knotty." She laughed, and took the brush I held out to her. I plopped down on the bed, and she sat behind me.

"Jesus, how long has it been since you brushed it out?" she asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know. Mexico." I realized she didn't know what I meant by Mexico. "Probably a month or so. Not since I was in Mexico." I felt her begin to pick apart one of the tangles.

Catherine grunted, and I felt a tug on my roots. "Well, have you considered cutting it?" I snorted. I had cut my hair a few times before, but more often than that it had been burnt off, yanked out, et cetera, et cetera.

"Yeah. No. I can't stand it. It throws me off."

"What's your name?" she asked, and I realized I _hadn't_ told her my name. "I'm Catherine Lisabeth Hunt, by the way."

"Alice Felix. Don't try to look me up, because I guarantee you won't find me." There was another tug at my roots. "Okay, about this whole New York thing. I'll go with you-"

"Yes! Thank you so much!"

"-As long as Professor Xavier approves."_ Which he won't._

* * *

**Ta-da! How about Alice accidentally flashing Victor and Logan?**

**How about Victor liking it?**

**Haha, I think some of you know what's going to be happening next. The whole Catherine-New York-Chaperon thing. Hehe. Poor Alice, what has she gotten herself into?**

**I have some bad news. It'll probably be another two weeks before I get the next chapter up. I know, I know! Sorry! Don't riot and murder me and such, not my fault I have school and sucky internet!**

**Anywho. I think that's all. **

**Peace bitches!**

**~Kat :3**


End file.
